OpinionJanuary 31, 2007
Speak Out 1/31/07
Model schools?; Speedy police; Keeping status quo; No public preschool; ATV danger; Keep to the right; Industrial growth; Buying cheap goods; Placing blame; Copy good ideas; Worse off than ever; Determined leader; Moving away; Releasing prisoners
Model schools?
SOMETHING ISN'T right. We have been told for years that our schools are failures and, compared to the rest of the world, our students do poorly in math, science and other subjects. Why would international teachers come to Southeast Missouri State University to study our teaching methods? Dr. Jean Benton at Southeast said "Teachers in other nations hold up the American educational system as a model." Can someone please explain this?
Speedy police
IT IS my understanding that police officers are supposed to obey the speed limit just like us unless they are going to an emergency. You can be driving through Jackson doing the speed limit and a police car will pass you at a much higher speed and then stop at one of the local eating places. This is wrong. If it's the speed limit, then this means everyone.
Keeping status quo
ANOTHER REASON for the high free/reduced lunch rate could be the school systems. I agree that the state of the economy is a major player. However, certain public schools possess Title I status, meaning they get more federal funds because of the low-income population in that particular school. I have never seen a Title I school not want to continue to be a Title I school. If free/reduced rate goes down, the school loses funding.
No public preschool
MY DAUGHTER goes to Christian School for the Young Years. It's an outstanding preschool and welcomes all children. Deena Ring should visit it and ask the director to house her handicapped preschool. I will not sit back and quietly let my taxes be misused in starting a preschool in the public school system.
ATV danger
I DON'T understand why the paper has to write articles on how dangerous ATVs are. The Southeast Missourian is just like the Democrats. They want total government control. Everything you do is dangerous unless you sit on your couch all day long. You take a risk getting in your car or walking down the street.
Keep to the right
TO THE people who frequent Mount Auburn Road and Siemers Drive: Section 26-212 (a) of the Cape Girardeau city ordinances reminds us to stay in the right-hand lane. The following exceptions include: (1) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing such movement. (2) When placing a vehicle in position for and when such vehicle is lawfully making a left turn in compliance with the provisions of this chapter [26]. (3) When the right half of a roadway is closed to traffic while under construction or repair. (4) Upon a roadway designated by local ordinance as a one-way street and marked or signed for one-way traffic. In other words, stay right except to pass or turn left.
Industrial growth
EVERYONE WANTS new stores, restaurants and so on, but this type of business pays minimum wages and nothing more. What Cape Girardeau needs is manufacturing and industrial jobs that pay a wage that a family can live on and that will encourage new stores to locate in Cape Girardeau. The only industry that has located in Cape Girardeau of this size to offer any growth at all has been Proctor & Gamble over 30 years ago. We need personal income growth, not retail growth.
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Buying cheap goods
FUNNY HOW people complain about jobs moving overseas. Even funnier is when those people vote for minimum-wage increases and buy imports because they are cheaper than American goods.
Placing blame
A Democratic mayor in New Orleans, a Democratic governor in Louisiana, yet the only one still being blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster is President Bush. Somewhere the lines don't match up. But I'm not a diehard Democrat. Perhaps some intelligent Democrat can explain to me how it would be accepted for a Republican president to tell a Democratic mayor and a Democratic governor they don't know how to do their job or save their people. And don't bother with the after-the-fact rhetoric. If a state can't take care of itself, which was and still seems to be the case in Louisiana, perhaps a federal take over is the only solution.
Copy good ideas
Local school districts seem pretty defensive about the Leopold School District's good rating. Wouldn't the proper way of dealing with this be for other school districts to see what good ideas can be taken from Leopold and apply them in their schools? It's much easier to be negative than to be constructive.
Worse off than ever
Give President Bush a chance? He's had six years of opportunity. We are worse off then at any other time in history. I'm sick of the big Republicans telling Democrats to come up with a plan. Republicans got us into this nightmare. They need to get us out.
Determined leader
President Bush did not botch the Katrina disaster. Blaming the president for a disaster is a cheap shot and shows just how low Democrats and liberal Republicans must go to come against a man who has shown such determined and principled leadership.
Moving away
All the comments about CEOs' lack of caring about the employees leads me to believe that those complaining don't understand that our regulatory-happy Congress has caused our companies to make moves out of the country in order to survive -- moves made possible by a Democratic president. We have the greatest system in this world. However, the biggest problem is that more and more foreign governments have adopted the system, and we cannot compete with them due to our government's intervention into private business via the regulatory process. If and when the voting public sends the message to politicos to support tort reform slowing frivolous litigation and to stop the proliferation of regulations, the moves offshore may slow. Sadly, until that happens the moves will continue.
Releasing prisoners
I want to know who is running the jail in Scott County: the sheriff or the commissioners? For the sheriff to agree to release nonviolent inmates for house arrest is ridiculous. These are drug dealers and users. Pay attention, Scott County.
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